Funeral directors, embalmers and other practitioners of mortuary science would need to be licensed in Colorado under new legislation introduced to stem a plethora of recent cases of neglect and abuse in the state’s funeral industry.
The measure, Senate Bill 24-173, would mandate the licensing of funeral service professionals and establish minimum standards of licensure. Colorado is currently the only state in the U.S. that does not require a license to practice funeral directing.
The move comes following several news reports of horrific cases involving funeral homes where law enforcement said decaying bodies were found abandoned, cremated remains stacked and unreturned to family members and clients’ money was improperly spent.
Sheila Canfield-Jones found out that what she thought were her daughter’s ashes were instead powdered cement after using Return to Nature, a green burial company where 190 sets of human remains in various states of decay were found in 2023. After being contacted by the FBI concerning her case, she began contacting legislators about fixing Colorado’s lax regulatory environment, according to a Colorado Public Radio story.
“I’m reading these laws and they’re horrible and they’re bad, and we need to do something now,” Canfield-Jones said.
Up until recently, the state didn’t even have the authority to inspect funeral homes on demand. That changed after several reports of abuse, including the case of a Montrose, CO, funeral home that was accused of illegally selling body parts.
But the cases of abuse and neglect continued to pile up, culminating with the Return to Nature case, which made national headlines and attracted the attention of the FBI. Because of the regulatory environment, no administrative action could be taken against the funeral home’s owners, even though criminal charges were filed.
Late in 2023, the state published what is called a sunrise review, in which 20 cases of misconduct at funeral homes and crematories were explored. In that report, a return to the licensing of funeral directors was recommended.
Still, the abuse cases kept coming. In the most recent incident, investigators found the cremated remains of 30 decedents along with a corpse at the home of a former funeral director in Littleton, CO.
The Colorado Funeral Directors Association has repeatedly stated it is in favor of increased regulation on its members, along with a robust enforcement effort.
In the bill introduced on March 4, 2024, the qualifications for funeral professions were outlined:
- Funeral director: Graduation from an approved mortuary science school, successful passage of the arts portion of the National Board Examination and an apprenticeship of one year or longer.
- Mortuary science practitioner: Graduation from an approved mortuary science school, successful passage of both the arts and science portions of the NBE and an apprenticeship of one year or longer.
- Embalmer: Graduation from an approved mortuary science school, successful passage of the science portion of the NBE and an apprenticeship or one year or longer.
- Cremationist or natural reductionist: Official certification as a crematory operator from the Cremation Association of North America, the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association or a successor organization.
Those currently practicing could be granted a provisional license if they have at least 6,500 hours of work experience, have served an apprenticeship of one year or longer and have passed a fingerprint-based criminal background check. If they hold the provisional license for 24 months without incident, they will qualify for full licensure.
In addition, six hours of continue education must be completed to renew a license. The state is in charge of establishing other rules of conduct for funeral service personnel. Those who violate those rules will be subject to discipline and fines of no more than $5,000 per violation.
“What we’re doing here with licensure is about restoring confidence in Colorado’s funeral industry,” Colorado Public Radio reported Representative Matt Soper, a main sponsor of the bill, as saying.